Using County-by-County election return data from USA Today together with County boundary data from the US Census' Tiger database we produced the following graphic depicting the results. Of course, blue is for the democrats, red is for the republicans, and green is for all other. Each county's color is a mix of these three color components in proportion to the results for that county.

I look at this map and no longer see the harsh contrast between blue and red that has divided us for so long. Everything is a shade of purple. It's important work like this -- coming up with creative ways to color maps -- that will help us all put the bitterness that divides us behind us and work together to make a stronger, more purple, America.

Comments

I agree it makes the divide look less 'divisive'.....but I still think that individuals are quite divided. I don't remember people this worked up over the race in 2000...maybe I was just not paying attention, or maybe the internet had made it worse this time.

It just makes the divide more fine-grained. It does show that the divide isn't simply bi-coastal. But I agree that people will continue to be personally divided. At least this won't give them the excuse that everybody around them thinks the same way.

Somebody suggested that all of the Democrats were trying to escape the country via deep-water ports, and got stuck there. ;-) This map belies that theory.